Another user asked: “Why is Beijing being ravaged by lightning and rain tonight? Only heaven knows the answer!” In the same tweet, the user included pictures of Liu’s wife and the 2010 Nobel prize that Liu was unable to accept while he was in Chinese custody.

There was also a storm in Chengdu on Thursday evening. “Heaven and earth are mourning together; men and gods alike are fuming,” said one Twitter user who posted footage of the storm from state tabloid the Global Times.

Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a bold petition that called for the protection of basic human rights and reform of China’s political system. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for “subversion”.

Correction 14:30: This article previously suggested that a Twitter user posted a Global Times video of the storm in Beijing. In fact, the video was taken in Chengdu.

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